Schonbrunn

Hi Incurable travellers, I continue my tale of weekend in the charming Vienna and visit to the allotment of Schonbrunn Palace, can be easily reached by underground U4 direction Hütteldorf, which stops right at the station. The Palace is only 5 minutes walk from the station and the route is very well signposted.

Schonbrunn Palace offers different ticket types depending on the type of visit and the time you want to spend on a visit. Among these mark the Imperial tour ticket allows access to all buildings, including the maze, and the Grand Tour ticket allows you to see all the 18th-century rooms of the main building, the time of Maria Theresa, in both cases including the audioguide in Italian.

The architectural complex of the Schonbrunn Palace was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996 and is the most visited attraction in Vienna as well as appears to be the largest Palace in Austria and is also known for hosting one of the world’s oldest zoo.

The name Schonbrunn originated from the discovery by the Emperor Matthias who, during a hunting expedition in this area, he noticed the presence of a source of clear water, “Schon brunn” — nice source.”

The room of Schonbrunn that most struck the imagination and the imagination was the Ballroom, majestic and impressive for both the size and the richness of the decorations, you can imagine the European nobility gathered at the Habsburg Court which decides the fate of Europe between dances and banquets.

Remember that one of the mottos of the Habsburg monarchy was “beautiful generant alii, tu felix Austria nube” or “others to do well as wars, you charming Austria join in marriage.” In fact, thanks to targeted marriages dominated the European scene until the end of World War I.

The rooms of Schonbrunn Palace are characterized heavily by the tastes and passions of the Austrian rulers strove even firsthand to personalize the decoration of the rooms, particularly in one of the rooms you can admire some drawings by the children of Maria Theresa of Austria that I must confess … story of Queen Elizabeth I of Austria, known universally as Sissi, has always fascinated me, initially from small to the influence of famous movies from the 50, following a more adult reading of its history to the highlights and shadows of a figure so characterizing the modern history of Austria. This is why visit the Schonbrunn Palace lasted throughout the morning, also in the Park in front of the Castle on the occasion of Easter, there was a quaint little market. The stands for us more interesting were those with an “enjoyable” so we decided to have lunch with spatzle and sausages with mustard and of course a pint of great beer.

After lunch we are dedicated to the visit of the great Park of Schonbrunn to the la Gloriette lying on the back at the top of a hill and we made a detour to the exhibition on Franz Joseph, as in 2016 is the 100th anniversary of ‘s death.

Francis Joseph ruled long on the Austrian Empire and was a man of sober and rigorous, averse to “modern technology”, so much so that he never wanted to use either phone, much less a car, had only one weakness love that linked him to his wife Elizabeth who was faithful for life. It is said that the announcement of the murder of beloved wife, who followed the loss of other key figures in his life, has declared that “nothing I was spared on this earth.”

Left Schonbrunn we resumed the subway and went back to the town centre and head towards the famous Demel coffee, where we tasted the “real” Sacher.

The debate on the veracity of the recipe between the two famous Viennese cafés, Sacher and Demel, is longstanding.

The anecdote tells of a recipe created by Franz Sacher in 1832 for Prince Metternich but later perfected by his son Eduard Sacher, while he was working as an apprentice at Demel, who sold the first slices. From here it is said that the hotel Sacher you taste original Sachertorte “Die (original)” while Demel you eat “Die Solicitações (vera) Sacher-Torte”.

After you taste them both I can tell you that the main difference between the two lies in the layers of jam, two in the original Sacher (one before icing and one in the middle of the cake) against just one (between frosting and cake) in the real one of Demel in glaze composition. The certainty is that both are a treat for the senses!

How to get there: By air: the international airport Vienna Schwechat is connected to the main Italian airports by the airline Austrian Airlines, often with more flights on the same day. For more information: www.austrianairlines.com

By train: Vienna can be reached by train from the main stations in Northern Italy. For more information: www.oebb.at

Where to stay: during our trip to Vienna, we stayed in the hotel Zeitgeist Vienna, for more informations and bookings: www.zeitgeist-vienna.com

Documents: none, although it is always better to take the I.D. Electricity Voltage: the electrical current is 230 volts. Italian equipment can normally be used. (check the manual)-all appliance outlets are bipolar Central grounding contact. Bring adapters. Time: Same time Italy. Currency: Euro Mandatory vaccinations: No Time to visit: all year